The 2-Week Bootcamp
The Skaehub boot camp lasted for two weeks. In those two weeks, a lot was accomplished in a very short period of time. It is a very intense program that requires complete dedication for two weeks; there is no time to slack off. Hence, working in a group is very helpful in such an environment. Working in a team makes sure no one is left behind. We had to work locally and also remotely. The first week, we worked on-site, and the second week, we worked remotely.
Refined curriculum
The boot camp has a very refined curriculum that is focused on understanding core concepts in software development. It covers both technical and soft skills. After finishing this curriculum, I realized that I was a half-baked programmer who needed a lot of work. The way I came into the boot camp was not the same way I came out. Something about my code quality has definitely changed. Now my spaghetti code has tests and some structure. My GitHub projects are on fleek, no lie those custom details read me makes your repo hit different. I used to zip and drag and drop projects into my GitHub repo, but now I can use the CLI. At the time of this writing, I am actually re-uploading my GitHub repos using the CLI. Bye zip and drag and drop.
TDD headaches
The curriculum had one section that we covered — TEST DRIVEN DEVELOPMENT — and this is where I struggled the most. Trying to understand the core concept was a hustle, but when it finally clicked, I was able to re-write some of my programs and run tests on them. But, should I run a test on the code I have, or should I write tests before the code or code before the test? Answer me in the comments.
Whatsapp scheduler
During the start of the project, we were to select a project to build by the end of the Bootcamp. I chose the Whatsapp Scheduler. The program is supposed to allow the user to enter the phone number, message and time, and save the data in a sqlite3 database. In this project, I have to use the Twilio Whatsapp API to send messages to the given number. The uphill task was creating a program that would run in the background every minute, reading the database and filtering data by the current time, and matching it to the scheduled time. I tried various modules and approaches to solve this problem, but nothing produced the expected results, so I dug deeper into the module’s documentation and discovered what threading was. Threading was the missing piece of my puzzle.
After creating the background process, I had to create a CLI where users would interact with the program. I referred to an article shared by our boot camp facilitator, (here is the link to the article [ https://codeburst.io/building-beautiful-command-line-interfaces-with-python-26c7e1bb54df ] ) to look for packages to add some flavor to the look and feel of the CLI. I am hoping the packages will result in a pleasant user experience by having an appealing user interface. There isn’t much I can do about the command line except make it fun and easy to use for the users.
Conclusion
The Skaehub Bootcamp is a beginner-friendly Bootcamp that will help you get started in software development faster. Some of the topics covered included web scraping, HTTP & Web Services, Test Driven Development, meaning, and many others. It is intense but manageable, and the best part is that it covers both technical and soft skills.
Lots of thanks to Humprey and Vero (Skaehub Staff) for everything you guys are awesome.
